Process of sewage disposal.



No. 836,323. PATENTBD Nov. 20, 1906. J. W. KBBGAN. PROCESS 0F SBWAGS DISPOSAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 5, 1905.

UNTEI) S'IA'IESv PATENT JOHN wiLLiM KEEGAN,` or SANTA nosA, cALironNiA.

PBooEssoF. sEwAGE DISPOSAL.

T0 all whom it Traa/u concern/a t Be it known that l, JOHN WILLIAM KEE- GAN, a citizen of the United dent of the city of Santa Rosa, county of Sonoma, Stateof California, have invented a new and useful improvement in Processes of Sewage Disposal, of which the following is a speciiication.

My invention relates to processes of sewage disposal by Sewage sludge has been hitherto treated in septic-tanks under conditions which produce anaerobic action," but I have discovered that in the eiiiuent from such tanks or, as l prefer to call them, anaerobic bacterialbeds the decreased quantity of dead organic matter is accompanied by alike decrease in the quantity of anrobic bacteria; and my; invention'has for its object to produce a completely puriiied effluent l accom lish m ob'ect by m im roved process, which, brieiiyldescribedconisists in subjecting the effluent' from an anaerobic bacterial similarly treating the efiiuent from the second bed in a third bed,

l and. so on continuously until the dead orsecondary object is to disappearance of dea l l will now proceed to explain ganic matter and the anaerobic bacteria have all disappeared. To (produce this gradual organic matter and along with it th'e disappearance of the contained anaerobic bacteria being the principal object of my invention, all other bacteria having been destroyed by anaerobic-action, i have also a secondary object, which relates to the treatment -of the sewage in the first of thel series of beds used in my process. This further the purifying rocess by improving the mode of mtroducing the sewage into said'bed. r

the process of sewage dis osal, which consists in the application of t e hysical fact` relating to the decrease of dea organic matter and the accompaning decrease in the quantity of anaeroic acteria and will follow with a descr-i tion of my im roved mode of introducing. t e sewage into t e initial bacterial bed. p

Figure l 1 is a diagrammatic view of aninstrument for reducing my process to practice.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view ofthe initial bed of said apparatus, showing means of'shiting l the place of defective anaerobic activit I providela bacterial bed l lof suita le capacity, into which the sewage poured and:

' Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed August 5.1905. Serial No. `272.926.

States, and a resiby the application of' this physical fact to the treatment of sewage.

bed to similar anaerobic treatment .by spraying in yPatented. Nov. 20, 1906.

allowedto remain bedded under conditions which cultivate anaerobic bacteria. The primary condition is the absence of free oxygen in the mass of sewage. This is primarily provided for in the first instance by covering the top` with a subpermanent cover 2, which is allowed to remain until a scurn 3 of suitable thickness has been u on said cover is remove the scum-thereafter providing for the separation of the age lmass from the oxygen-bearing air. The scum is thereafter disintegrated continually by oxidation from the top while being added to from the bottom.

The sewage is allowed to remain in bed'l until it rises to the level of the efflux a erture 4. The iiuid parts then begin to ow into thev second covered bacterial bed 5,

Where they are restrained by the dam 6, carrying into said chamber in suspension and solution a diminished quantity per unit of bulk of dead organic matter and a correspondinglydiminished uantity of anaerobic bacteria. The retardation to the flow of the effluent effected by dam 6 causes a deposition of part of the dead organic matter on the surfaces of bacterial bed 5, while the fluid arts flow into the third bed 7, carrying wit them a still further diminished quantity of dead organic matter and a correspondinglydiminished quantity of anaerobicY bacteria. The action of thev anaerobic bacteria continuesl in the second bacterial bed as it began' in the first,

the influx consisting of the primarily-treated eiux from the initial bed and the eii'lu-x consisting of the secondarily-treated iiuid, as y aforesaid.` rlhe flow through the third bed 7.,

-is retarded by dam 8, a like deposition. ot

dead organic matter and of the inflowing: anaerobic bacteria being eHected thereby, the influx into bed 7 consisting of the secondarily-treated fluid from bed 5. The series of beds and retardiiig-dams is continued until the succession of separate bacterial activities ,has completely uriiied the cfliuent of organic matter an anaerobic bacteria. The eiiuent then consists of water holding in solution various gases, and these are eliminated the open air; but the spraying forms no art 'of my process, which is confined to thee 'minationv of terby anaerobic bacterial action throughout.

Referring now to`my mode of introducing i, the sewage into the initial bed, 1^ have dis-l covered that there is a tendency to retard the anaerobic action near roduced, wheresew- ICO

dead organic matthe regionv of introduction of the sewage into the bed, caused l by the presence of free oxygen, and thatthis tendency produces a clogging of the entrance vparts in said bed. This clogging interrupts the free flow of the sewage and reds the activity in the bed as a whole.

'object of my improved uotion is to provide means the clogging tendency and to allow free bacterial action. Brieiiy, I accomplish my object by shifting the point of introduction of the sewage sludge into the initial bed. Referring to- F ig. 2 which is a horizontal section of my initial-bacterial bed illustratin my mode of introduction of the sewage sludge into the said bed, 14 15 are conduits from a grit-chamber 16, which chamber, however, iorms no part of my invention, through which the sewage sludge is admitted into pipes 17 18, extending along the sides the entirelength Of Said bed. 1920 21 22 23 24 25 26 are gates in said conduits. Thesegates control ports from said conduits opening into the` bacterial bed. In applying my process all` the gates excepting one are closed, and the sewage sludge enters at the open gate. After some time has elapsed the region aboutthis point of entry becomes defective in anaerobic activity, the time varying through various causes from weeks to months, but the defective state being always manifested by a heaping upr of the scum directly over the defective region. Supposing gate 26 to be the one r controlling thisvregion, when the scum over said gate 1s discovered to be in the said abj normal condition trance is effected by opening some other gate, as 20for instance, far away from fthe defective region. Normal anaerobic action thereupon begins in the region about gate 26. When the scum over gate 20 shows the eX- istence of a defective action, like that pre viously appearing at gate 26, gate 2O is closed and another gate opened. This .process is f of overcoming gate 26 is closed and encontinued, the

as often as the scum above e open gate indicates the expediency of a changej Actual tests ofmy plete elimination of anaerobic bacteria troduction in the process show a oomdead organic matter and between the point of ininitial bacterial bed and the point of eiilux from the nal bed. The sewage matter prior to anrobic treatment is passed through a rit-chamber 16, Fig'. 2, adapted to retain t e bulky mineralsubstances that may be contained therein. The remaining mineral constituents are allowed to deposit themselves in the bacterial beds, their amount being so small as not to materially affect said beds until after many years of deposition.

Having described my invention, whati I` claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The improvement in processes of sewage disposal, which consists in maintaining he region of defective therein periodically.

The 'improvement in processes of sewage disposal which consists 1n subjecting sewage matter to an initial treatment in a bacterial bed wherein substantial uniformity'of anierobic activity is maintained by periodically shifting the position of the region of defective anaerobic activity, and in subjecting the efl'iuent from said bed to a succession of anaerobic treatments until the contained bacteria have ,been substantially eliminated.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto written my name in the presence of two witnesses. j

JGHN WILLIAM KEEGAN. Witnesses: FINLAY COOK,

W. H. MEAD. 

